Daniel Patrick Moynihan Biography

Born March 16, 1927, in Tulsa, OK; died of a ruptured appendix, March 26,
2003, in Washington, DC.
Professor and United States Senator. During his more than 40 years in
government and teaching, Daniel Patrick Moynihan was known for his
erudite, opinionated, and entertaining speaking style, as well as for his
willingness to criticize presidential administrations of both parties, and
his often controversial views on race relations. Although he was not known
as an original researcher, the 18 books he wrote or edited sparked intense
debate and further research and action on the part of those who read them.
His campaign to turn Washington D.C.'s Pennsylvania Avenue into a
lasting monument renewed the city and remains today as a legacy to his
interest in architecture. Moynihan was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1927,
the son of a newspaperman. Later in that year, his father moved the family
to New York City, where he worked writing advertising copy. In 1937, when
Moynihan was ten, his father abandoned the family, leaving them in
poverty. They moved into a series of Manhattan apartments, and Moynihan
helped to support the family by shining shoes in Times Square. Moynihan
graduated from high school with honors in 1943, and then worked as a
stevedore at Piers 48 and 49 in Manhattan.

After attending City College in Manhattan for a year, Moynihan enlisted in
the Navy and received officer training at Middlebury College and at Tufts
University. The following year, with the end of World War II, he was
discharged, worked at a bar his mother had bought, and then earned his
B.A. at Tufts in 1948. In 1949, he earned an M.A. at the Fletcher School
of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts. In 1950, he received a Fulbright
Scholarship to attend the London School of Economics. Upon returning to
the United States in 1953, he worked on Robert F. Wagner's mayoral
campaign and then wrote speeches for W. Averell Harriman's
successful gubernatorial campaign in 1954, later becoming
Harriman's chief aide. While working there, he met Elizabeth
Brennan, and they married in May of 1955. In 1961, after completing his
Ph.D. in international relations at Syracuse University, he began working
in the Labor Department in Washington, D.C., eventually becoming the
department's assistant secretary. While there, he became interested
in the architecture of office spaces, and then in the architecture of
public buildings and public spaces. This interest would endure for the
rest of his life, and would give rise to one of his most enduring
projects: transforming Washington's dingy Pennsylvania Avenue into
a grand boulevard that connected the U.S. Capitol and the White House.

Moynihan was also interested in immigration and ethnic diversity, and
became controversial for his views on the problems facing
African–American families. Noting the high levels of unemployment,
welfare, and unmarried mothers among African Americans, he wrote that
America had destroyed these families through the historical legacy of
slavery, and that it was the responsibility of the government to adopt
policies to enhance the stability and resources of these families. His
views were roundly criticized by liberal observers, and in 1965 he left
the administration. In 1966, he moved to Harvard University, where he
served as director of the Joint Center for Urban Studies and became a
tenured professor in the Graduate School of Education. He continued to
spar with liberals on his views regarding African–American issues.

When Republican Richard M. Nixon was elected president, Moynihan, who
viewed himself as a liberal Democrat, joined the White House staff as
assistant to the president for urban affairs. His friends and his wife
were startled by his alliance with Nixon, and his wife refused to move to
Washington. While working with Nixon, Moynihan pushed for a Family
Assistance Plan for poor families; the program went nowhere. So did
Moynihan's suggestion that the United States end the war in
Vietnam.

In 1970 he went back to Harvard, where he shifted his interests to foreign
affairs; he was instrumental in negotiating an end to India's huge
food aid debt to the United States. In 1975 he became the United
States' ambassador to the United Nations. As ambassador, he became
famous for his blunt replies to criticism of the United States by other
countries. United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger disliked
Moynihan's confrontational tactics, and Moynihan retired in
February of 1976. He then ran for the Democratic nomination for the
Senate, won easily, and won again three more times. As a senator, he
worked to rectify a shortfall of Federal money to New York. He was also
noted for his criticism of all four presidents under whom he served.

In 1977, Moynihan decided that President Jimmy Carter did not realize how
evil the Soviet Union was, and over the ensuing years, he noted that the
Soviet Union's empire seemed to be crumbling from the inside. As a
result, he believed that vast military spending to protect the United
States against the Soviets was no longer necessary, and he was sharply
critical of President Ronald Reagan's emphasis on military spending
at the expense of domestic spending. In 1990, he was similarly critical of
President George H.W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq. When
President Bill Clinton sought to establish a national health insurance
program, Moynihan was
against the program, commenting that the administration should first
reform welfare. Despite this criticism, in 2000, President Clinton awarded
Moynihan the Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian
honor.

Moynihan died on March 26, 2003, as a result of complications arising from
a ruptured appendix; he was 76. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth;
their children, Timothy, Maura, and John; and two grandchildren. He was
buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors, including
a 21–gun salute and a musical tribute by the Navy Band.